Why women becoming priests are making India a fairer place for future generations

Pradnya Patil broke many rules when she moved into her new home in Pune.

The apartment she had bought was luxurious and beautiful - it was a dream come true, in many ways.

But more remarkable - as anyone who witnessed her housewarming ceremony would have seen - was 41-year-old Chitra Lele sitting on the floor before aesthetically-placed statues of Hindu deities, sunlight filtering through the windows, and the warm benign presence of the almighty filling every corner.

Women have now started performing rituals that were earlier considered to be a man's job

Priest Chitra Lele, dressed in a bright, colourful sari spun out of silk, explained rituals in local Marathi to an intently listening family.

Pradnya was very clear that she wanted a female priest to conduct all the pujas in her home, not just for the housewarming, but all the ceremonies they would ever hold.

Her reasons were more practical than consciously feminist. She explained that male priests take forever to finish a puja, which a priest like Chitra can perform in a shorter period and far more pleasant manner.

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She finds women priests far more sincere and committed, and Pradnya is happy that a lot of her family members and friends have shifted to using their services.

Chitra is married with a daughter and she is happy that her child is also interested in Vedic literature, Sanskrit and Hinduism.

Ritu, a widow with two daughters and a son, proudly performed the wedding rituals for her elder child, sitting in the mandap with pride and a heart filled with blessings.

She had borne the beautiful bride and it was unfortunate that her husband had passed. She had brought up the bride and her siblings in the best way possible and believed that she had every right to perform these sacrosanct ceremonies alone.

She had no intention of looking for a married couple in the family who would agree to do the kanyādān. Ritu was still alive. Nobody complained. And the couple are exceedingly happy.

In another instance in the Lodi Crematorium I was witness to three sisters perform the last rites of their father unhesitatingly and sure-footedly.

It was a sight to both break and warm hearts when the eldest sister gathered her younger siblings and all three girls put their arms around each others’ waist before sending their beloved father on his last journey.

There was no need to look for a male cousin or relative to perform the act, and why would they when they had served their father better than an army of sons could? No one protested.

If you see a woman purohit performing all the rituals at a wedding ceremony, don’t be surprised. People find them softer, kinder and easier to communicate with.

A welcome change from male Brahmins who lay out too many uncomfortable rules to follow and don’t know how to accommodate or innovate.

Women priests understand the limitations a Hindu home may have and find happy workarounds to the rituals.

When the University Grants Commission introduced a course in Functional Sanskrit, the erstwhile tradition of women conducting traditional pujas seems to have experienced a second coming.

Girls pursuing this course find it a wonderful experience and are happy to explore a career in priesthood.

But are parents comfortable with their daughters performing religious rituals at ceremonies?

I remember reading an article where Nivedita Jha, a graduate in Sanskrit and a Masters in Astrology from the Lucknow University, says that there is no problem.

She finds great peace when she chants mantras for herself and others. So, it comes as no surprise that women are fighting for the right to worship in any temple of the land and on all days of the month.

These bastions, set up by a patriarchal society for reasons which have been often discussed, are meant to be stormed and broken.

And now it is time for women to break such barriers by protesting at the Shani Shingnapur temple and breaking into its sanctum.

In olden times, the men who made these rules could not have women enter temples freely as priests or as worshippers for a simple basic and ugly reason.

Women were devdasies. The word essentially means someone who is the servant of God. Nothing wrong with term, save that here, they serviced the Lord indirectly.

They were told that their salvation lies through the lurid path of servicing the men who served god, the priests.

To give the women an equal place would have caused too much inconvenience to the men who enjoyed this service.

My best wishes to all those ladies who have decided enough is enough. They will make India a fairer place for the generations of girls to follow.

The writer is a Mail Today columnist. The views expressed are personal